{"id":61213,"date":"2026-10-29T10:23:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T07:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesauditimes.net\/en\/?p=61213"},"modified":"2026-10-29T10:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T07:23:05","slug":"ikea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesauditimes.net\/en\/ikea\/","title":{"rendered":"IKEA: the Swedish-founded home furnishing brand and how it works"},"content":{"rendered":"

IKEA is a home furnishing brand founded in Sweden in 1943, whose concept and trademark are owned by Inter IKEA Systems B.V. and whose stores are run by 13 franchisee groups around the world. It sells furniture, kitchens, textiles, lighting and food, mostly in flat packs that customers assemble at home.<\/p>\n

The brand matters because of its reach. In the financial year to August 2025, IKEA stores and online channels recorded 44.6 billion euros in retail sales and 915 million store visits, and Inter IKEA chief executive Jon Abrahamsson Ring said that “Making IKEA more affordable for the many people is central to who we are.”<\/p>\n

\"IKEA:
An IKEA store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photo: Ben MacLeod, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overview and Founding<\/h3>\n

Ingvar Kamprad<\/a> registered IKEA in 1943 in southern Sweden. The business first sold small household goods by mail, such as pens, wallets and picture frames, before adding furniture in 1948.<\/p>\n

Because it was based in the small town of \u00c4lmhult, far from the big cities, IKEA relied on a printed catalogue to reach buyers, with the first annual edition appearing in the early 1950s. A showroom in \u00c4lmhult let customers check quality before ordering.<\/p>\n

Flat packing, introduced in the 1950s with the L\u00d6VET side table, cut transport costs and damage. Self-service followed after a fire at the Kungens Kurva store near Stockholm in 1970 led staff to let customers collect goods themselves.<\/p>\n

By the early 1980s IKEA was present in 20 countries. Kamprad then set up a franchise system to protect the concept and keep the company independent, and ruled out a stock market listing.<\/p>\n

Key Milestones<\/h3>\n